Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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153. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the projected annual spend, broken down by year and by sub-programme, of the Common Agricultural Policy rural development programme 2014-2020, for example, ANC payments, agri-environmenal schemes, genomics, etc.; a similar breakdown of the projected final spend under the CAP programme 2007-2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16998/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Rural Development Programme, 2014-2020 (RDP) will be co-funded from the National Exchequer and the EU’s European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The agreement reached on the Multiannual Financial Framework provides for a total allocation of EU funding of €2.19 billion (€313m per annum over 7 years) to Ireland for a new RDP. €2.037 billion of the EU funding is allocated to measures to be delivered via the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, with the remainder allocated to LEADER funding which is administered by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

The Government has shown its commitment to a strategic investment in Rural Ireland and the agri-food sector by providing matching National Exchequer funding at the rate of 46% to supplement the €2.037 billion EU allocation. In addition to this money, there is also an additional allocation from the current RDP 2007-2013 to be spent in 2014 and 2015. When taken in conjunction with the allocation of funding for LEADER measures, this represents a fund of over €4 billion for investment in rural development measures in the period to 2020.

While the final decisions have yet been made on the measures to be included in the new Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020, the new RDP will be a key support in enhancing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, achieving more sustainable management of natural resources and ensuring a more balanced development of rural areas.

I have recently published a consultation document on the new RDP, which sets out a range of proposed measures for inclusion.

The main areas proposed for support in the new RDP are:

- a substantial new agri-environment/climate scheme (GLAS), which will build on the progress made under REPS and AEOS. This will provide for a maximum payment of €5,000 for up to 50,000 farmers, and a further payment of up to €2,000 for a limited number of farmers who take on particularly challenging actions,

- continued strong support for disadvantaged areas (now Areas of Natural Constraint), to the tune of about €195 million per year,

- incentives for on-farm capital investment,

- knowledge transfer and innovation measures, aimed at underpinning farm viability, sustainability and growth through the adoption of best practice and innovative solutions, including in the beef and sheep sectors,

- a beef data and genomics measure worth up to €52 million per year aimed at improving the genetic quality of the beef herd, and

- other supports aimed at collaborative farming, artisan producers, organic farming, etc.

The annual expenditure for each proposed measure over the lifetime of the new RDP will be subject to the normal annual budgetary procedure.

With regards to the 2007-2013 programming period, the following table sets out the measures co-funded under the Rural Development Programme 2007 – 2013 [RDP], including EAFRD funding and the corresponding national funding. The expenditure information is based on my Department’s quarterly returns to the European Commission and the table reflects the spend up to the end of 2013 (the last quarter for which figures are finalised). The table does not include funds already committed but not as yet claimed, and the final expenditure totals at the end of 2015 will be dependant on the successful completion of works by the applicant within the specified timelines. However, in managing the final years of expenditure under these Schemes, it is a priority for my Department to ensure that all of the remaining available EU funds under the RDP 2007-2013 will be fully drawn down by the end of 2015.

It should be noted that the expenditure figures for agri-environment, and consequently of Axis 2 and the overall RDP, in the table have been revised downward by €12m following further examination, since PQ No. 34 of the 26 March 2014.